Seven of the world’s largest carmakers have reached an agreement on a common system for charging electric vehicles in Europe and North America.

Audi, BMW, Ford, General Motors, Mercedes, Porsche and Volkswagen, have agreed to adopt a common coupling system, which will in future mean any car can be plugged in at any charging station.

The new system uses a common protocol called HomePlug Green Phy. This should mean that electric vehicle charging infrastructure is developed more quickly and make electric cars more viable to buyers.